The harvest moon is shining brightly and a cool wind is blowing as we relax under the peaked thatched roof of the open air lodge. We are told we must not walk outside without a guard as animals such as zebras, wildebeests and monkeys can walk freely on the premises. Tarangire Safari Lodge is in Tarangire Park; the Tarangire River runs through and is the main water source for the animals some of which migrate from the Maasai Mara in Kenya southward when the rains come, and back northward as the rivers dry. It feels like a completely world from what we left this morning.
Arusha is one of the major cities in Tanzania. We drive through areas that remind me of tge poorer villages of China, with shops and shacks that line the major thoroughfare.
Leaving the city, we pass Maasai villages and clusters of cows being led to water by Maasai herders. Finding water is a major part of this nomadic life, and water sources are few and far between. The land is very arid, much like the eastern sierras. Some herders and women with jugs walk to water each day, others walk farther and farther away frim home, only to retun when the rains come. Their diet consists of meat and a drink that is half milk and half blood, which according to our guide, allows the Maasai to survive months without drinking water.
Maasai men have many wives. A rich man has many wives, cows and children. After a woman gives birth, she stays away from her husband for 3 years. We see a few young boys by the side of the road with white painted faces. Boys at 14-15 are circumcised, and after 3 months their faces are painted so they cannot be seen by their mothers. At 6 months, they appear as men.
Following a dusty road, we enter the park. It is hot and very dry as we make our way to the lodge. We watch herds of zebras and wildebeest in addition to many soecies of birds, and are spellbound as a small family of Asian elephants walk by. They are huge animals with large flapping ears and big tusks.
In the late afternoon, we head out on a game drive. We watch a large herd of elephants, the young frolick in the sand and water, the mothers watch over the young, and the juveniles tease eachother. Their behavior is so human like that we are entranced. At the end of the drive, we come upon 4 young lions in a tree, and on the way back, a mother lion with 3 cubs, a recent wildebeest kill which mother prepares for consumption. It is an incredible sight and a dramatic ending to our day
